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AJ Allmendinger will race in NASCAR Cup for JTG/Daugherty

June 8, 2013

Bobby Labonte will step out of the No. 47 Camry for at least five races this season so that A.J. Allmendinger can race the car and give feedback to the team. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Part-time NASCAR and IndyCar racer A.J. Allmendinger will run as many as five Sprint Cup races this summer and fall in the No. 47 Toyota normally assigned to 2000 NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte. Allmendinger may debut with the JTG/Daugherty team next weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

The team says the move will help refine the direction for our development of the Gen 6 Camrys.

“Bobby Labonte wanted to help our team grow and develop when he signed on with our organization at the beginning of the 2011 season,” said team co-owner Brad Daugherty. “He continues to do a tremendous job for us. Bobby has given us his ideas for improving the product, and we believe A.J. will do the same.”

Bobby Hutchens, the team's competition director, said getting input from Allmendinger will help JTG/Daugherty identify where their cars stand in relation to the competition and will help when they begin building their next group of cars. Allmendinger, who's already done some IndyCar races this year for Roger Penske and Cup races for James Finch, feels he can help make the team get better.

Allmendinger drove for Penske in the IndyCar Series Dual in Detroit June 1-2. He crashed on the first lap of both races.

“I've raced for Phoenix Racing some this year and feel confident I'll be able to provide JTG Daugherty Racing with a good comparison," said Allmendinger, who has raced in Cup for Red Bull, Richard Petty Motorsports and, much of last season, for Penske. “I'm thankful for this opportunity to work with the team and Bobby.”

Labonte is currently 27th in points with no poles, no wins, no top-5 finishes and no top 10s. His 85-start summary with JGT/Daugherty Racing shows no poles, no wins, a single top-5 finish and only four top 10s.